Ammunition box

An ammunition box or cartridge box is a container designed for safe transport and storage of ammunition. It is typically made of metal, wood, and corrugated fiberboard, etc. Boxes are labelled with caliber, quantity, and manufacturing date, lot number, UN dangerous goods labels.

With a metal container, rubber gasket is commonly found in the hinged lid to protect the ammunition from moisture damage. With other containers, plastic bags and desiccants can be used.

The resealing ammunition box is largely a NATO tradition. Warsaw Pact nations typically stored and transported ammunition in single-use "spam cans". They had crates that had a sealed zinc lining on the inside.

Commercial ammunition boxes

Some enthusiasts and investors collect historical ammunition boxes.^[1]^[2]

Many also use them as containers for the recreational activity of Geocaching.

Storage

Due to their durable construction, used metal ammunition boxes are popularly re-used for general storage and other purposes.^[3]^[4] They are a popular choice for geocaching containers. Used ammunition boxes have lead and propellant residue inside, so they should not be used to store food or drink. Commercially-made new or fully reconditioned used boxes do not have this problem. Used boxes are often sold at military surplus stores.

Regulations

Shipments of explosives and similar hazards are highly regulated. Based on the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods model regulations, each country has coordinated design and performance requirements for shipment. For example, in the US, the Department of Transportation has jurisdiction and published requirements in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.^[5]

The applicable regulation depends on the level of hazard, quantity being shipped, mode of transit, etc.^[6]^[7]

Gallery

An M19A1 ammunition box for 7.62×51mm NATO M80 ball
WW II English hand grenade box
box of cartridges
Wooden box, WWII
Checking bar codes on wooden ammunition boxes
box of 100 mm Polish artillery shells
Sailors carrying box of ammunition

References

^ Rains, Richard (2006). "Collecting .22 Rimfire Boxes". Retrieved 2008-07-22.
^ "Collecting Shotshell Boxes". 2005. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
^ Perkins, George (2003-05-23). "The "AmmoLAN"". Mini-ITX.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
^ "Images tagged "ammobox"". Flickr. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
^ "How to Comply with Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations". United States Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
^ Libbert (1993), PERFORMANCE ORIENTED PACKAGING TESTING OF PACKING M2AI AMMUNITION BOX FOR GROUP II SOLID HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, DODPOPHM/USA/DOD/NADTR92101 REVISION A (PDF), vol. AD-A275 086, Naval Surface Warfare Center, retrieved 11 May 2024
^ Beaver (2002), Box, Wooden for 105MM Howitzer Ammunition in a Fiber Container, M105A3, United Nations (UN) Performance Oriented Packaging (POP) Test, REPORT NO. 02-04 (PDF), U.S. ARMY DEFENSE AMMUNITION CENTER, retrieved 11 May 2024

selected US specifications

MIL-B-2427 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: BOX, AMMUNITION PACKING: WOOD, NAILED (30-AUG-1984)
MIL-B-3060 , MILITARY SPECIFICATION: BOXES, SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION: M19A1 AND M2A1 (12 DEC 1979)
MIL-B-18876 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: BOX, AMMUNITION, 40MM MARK 1 MOD 0
MIL-B-20390 - MIL-B-20390B, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: BOARD, AMMUNITION CONTAINER
MIL-B-46506 , MILITARY SPECIFICATION: BOXES, AMMUNITION PACKING, WOOD, WIREBOUND
MIL-C-2439 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, AMMUNITION, FIBER, SPIRALLY WOUND
MIL-C-2440 , MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, METAL, FOR PROPELLING CHARGE
MIL-C-2440 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, METAL, FOR PROPELLING CHARGE
MIL-C-6879, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINERS,CARRYING AND STORAGE, SIGNAL, ILLUMINATION AIRCRAFT
MIL-C-21215 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CRATES, PALLETS, AMMUNITION
MIL-C-70469 , MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, STEEL, FOR BULK PROPELLANT
MIL-C-70469 , MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, STEEL, FOR BULK PROPELLANT
MIL-C-70470 , MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER FIBER FOR BULK PROPELLANT
MIL-C-70478 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, AMMUNITION, METAL, FOR CARTRIDGE, 120MM, TANK AMMUNITION
MIL-C-70842 , MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, SHIPPING AND STORAGE, CARTRIDGE, 40MM, PA120 GENERAL SPECIFICATION
MIL-C-70998 -, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, SHIPPING AND STORAGE,
MIL-DTL-2427 , DETAIL SPECIFICATION: BOX, AMMUNITION PACKING: WOOD, NAILED
MIL-DTL-3060 DETAIL SPECIFICATION: BOXES, SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION - M19A1 AND M2A1
MIL-DTL-18492 DETAIL SPECIFICATION: TANKS, CARTRIDGE, POWDER, ROCKET, AND COMPONENTS (ALUMINUM)

SHIPMENT OF PROJECTILE METAL PARTS AND PROJECTILE AMMUNITION

MIL-DTL-46506 DETAIL SPECIFICATION: BOXES, AMMUNITION PACKING, WOOD, WIREBOUND
MIL-PRF-32076 PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION: UTILIZATION OF AMMUNITION
MIL-S-23389 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: SHIPPING AND STORAGE CONTAINER, CARTRIDGE, 20MM, M548
MIL-S-50312 , MILITARY SPECIFICATION: SHIPPING AND STORAGE CONTAINER, CARTRIDGE, 30 MILLIMETER - XM592

External links

European Ammo Box Translations

[collecting22-1] Rains, Richard (2006). "Collecting .22 Rimfire Boxes". Retrieved 2008-07-22.

[collectingss-2] "Collecting Shotshell Boxes". 2005. Retrieved 2008-07-22.

[pcbox-3] Perkins, George (2003-05-23). "The "AmmoLAN"". Mini-ITX.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-22.

[flickr-4] "Images tagged "ammobox"". Flickr. Retrieved 2008-07-22.

[5] "How to Comply with Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations". United States Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2020.

[6] Libbert (1993), PERFORMANCE ORIENTED PACKAGING TESTING OF PACKING M2AI AMMUNITION BOX FOR GROUP II SOLID HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, DODPOPHM/USA/DOD/NADTR92101 REVISION A (PDF), vol. AD-A275 086, Naval Surface Warfare Center, retrieved 11 May 2024

[7] Beaver (2002), Box, Wooden for 105MM Howitzer Ammunition in a Fiber Container, M105A3, United Nations (UN) Performance Oriented Packaging (POP) Test, REPORT NO. 02-04 (PDF), U.S. ARMY DEFENSE AMMUNITION CENTER, retrieved 11 May 2024

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